Place Your Bets
by Forensic Science
Summary: Sakura is going around collecting money for some mysterious bet, and Kiba is more than a little suspicious. They won't tell him anything. So naturally, this is going to end badly.


So... less crack and more wishful thinking on my part. I love this pairing mostly because of the fan contributions, so I decided to add in my two cents. Hope you enjoy, and remember, if I owned Naruto, I wouldn't be here. Also, the footnote isn't important, just a little bit of a peculiarity I noted.

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><p>Kiba was used to being assaulted by smells. Everyone had their own unique odor, and he had gotten used to smelling the unusual tang of anger and sweat, and even fear sometimes. He naturally drifted towards people who smelled nice, and most of his friends were hygienically conscious so it wasn't as big a deal for him as it would be to others. It amused him to see that these habits continued for his benefit during missions as well. He found that there was almost nothing worse than trying to track a target when someone on the team was badly in need of a bath.<p>

It was even sometimes fun to pick someone out with his eyes closed. Hinata always smelled nice, like the tea she drank, and the Hyugas in general smelled like lilacs. Even Neji, though none of the Inuzuka clan said anything. It was sort of an in-clan joke. Luckily, the Inuzukas and the Hyugas didn't have much to do with each other, except for formal events and even then they sat completely across the room from one another.

Team Seven was always an interesting smell combination, as well, and Kiba sniffed around the training grounds absently. Sakura and Naruto had been there, fighting, probably. Sakura's strong shampoo left a lingering marker, as well as that sterile smell from the hospital. Naruto's body practically sweated ramen, and Sai's ink smell also lingered in the background. Other scents fought for attention, but those three were the freshest.

The Inuzuka sniffed took a long drag of the air and smiled to himself, climbing up a tree to rest for a while. Akamaru was being commandeered for another job back at the house, and as much as Kiba wanted to stay with his friend, he wanted to go for a walk even more. It was much easier to go around unnoticed when he didn't have a huge dog with him. Besides, he could lie out in the sun all day and no one would be the wiser.

And it was a glorious plan for about twenty minutes. Then, Kiba got bored and decided to look for someone else to hang around with. Relaxing was great, but it lacked the awesomeness if he had nothing he was supposed to be doing.

It took about five minutes for Kiba to gravitate to the Hyuga home. Like she normally did, Hinata was having tea with Sakura and Tenten, although the normally-present Ino was nowhere to be found. So much the better, though. Kiba's nose started running when she was around, since between the flowers she worked with, the sterility of the hospital she maintained, and the perfume she insisted on marinating in, her scent was overpowering. It wasn't an unpleasant kind of overpowering, but it still garnered attention when Kiba had to hold his nose for a few minutes before he could stand to be around her for long.

The clan house was looking just as majestic as always, and Kiba tried not to kick at the flowers despite not feeling any ill will for the family. It was just that the place always looked lonely, like no one lived there and they just kept up appearances. Children didn't run around, and there were no pets playing in the yard. In short, it was the exact opposite of his clan, and he didn't like it.

"Hey, Hinata!" Kiba said loudly, waving as the young Hyuga smiled softly. She seemed more at peace these days, and Sakura and Tenten turned to look at the dog when he approached. They had been chatting about something, but now they stopped dead, just staring. Self-consciously, Kiba looked down at himself, but he found nothing out of place. His clothes were clean, and his hair was… well, no he hadn't combed his hair, but it was always like that.

"Good morning, Kiba," Hinata said pleasantly, the first to recover from whatever had stopped them before. "Would you like some tea?"

"Sure!" Hinata obligingly stood and headed for the tea cabinet as Kiba settled in between her place and Tenten, avoiding Sakura's eyes as the medic did the same. Things had been awkward between them since Hana's birthday party, and Tenten looked between them with interest. All three were dressed traditionally, which was odd for the rosette and brunette, but not a bad thing. Sakura looked good in things like that, and Tenten looked good in anything…

Kiba quickly pulled his mind back to the situation as Hinata looked at him curiously, holding the cup in her hands. The dog grinned at her, and she seemed less unsure about things. Her walking continued, and she pulled some hair back behind her ear.

Hinata sat down again when Kiba gestured for it and she poured the tea carefully, her small hands ever graceful as she placed the cup before her friend. She still smiled, but that faltered a little when she felt the conversation die.

"So, what's wrong with you two?" Tenten asked loudly, looking at Sakura meaningfully. Sakura only blushed and looked away, so Tenten giggled. "Did something happen that you don't want us to know about?"

Hinata, upon hearing that, looked over at Kiba, her face turning red. He laughed and patted her on the back, trying to make sure she didn't get a nosebleed and pass out or something. Sakura did the same, although at the same time she sent a bone-chillingly cold glare in the weapon mistress's direction. The teasing stopped immediately, since an angry Sakura was a relatively deadly Sakura. Besides, Tenten was a little blunt, but she knew when to stop a joke.

"W-what brings you here today, Kiba?" Hinata asked, putting her hands on her cheeks to cool them down a little. "And where's Akamaru?"

"Dunno," Kiba replied, picking up his tea and taking a drink before he nearly dropped the cup. "Hot! Hot!" Hinata looked concerned while Tenten tried not to roll her eyes, but Kiba was unfazed and continued. "Mom took Akamaru with her. She said something about clan business, and I got out of there."

"Was Hana with her?" Sakura asked, glancing at the boy before looking away again.

Kiba scratched his ear, thinking for a moment. "I don't think so. Do you need her for something?" He looked at the rosette, and their eyes met for a few seconds before they had to look away once more. Kiba could smell the embarrassment rolling off her in waves, and even the smell of tea couldn't get it out of his nose. If they hadn't met up at Hana's party, this wouldn't have been nearly as awkward now, and Kiba knew that if he left now, he would just invite more trouble. Sakura seemed to realize the same thing, so they were stuck trying not to look at each other.

"I just had to settle a bet we made last week," Sakura said mildly, looking over at Tenten. The weapons mistress smiled and then took a sip of her tea as Sakura continued. "We haven't settled all of the terms, and I want to make sure all of the bets are in place before this afternoon. It's important, or they're getting cut out."

"Wasn't all this set up over drinks on Tuesday?" Hinata asked, blinking in surprise. "I already gave Naruto my money. He took a bunch of the bets at the tea house and said he put the money with your collection."

"You told him what you were betting on?" Tenten asked. "That's giving him an unfair advantage, Hinata. You'll make him win my money." She grinned to show that she was kidding, but Hinata still looked worried.

"It's no more than me telling Lee what my thoughts were," Sakura replied. "And he told you, so the bets are all over the board anyway. There's more than enough money on either side to make it worth it." She turned to the quiet girl. "I got all of Naruto's money and the ledger. I'm sure you're on there. I'll just have to check when I'm recalculating everyone's share with the odds as they are now."

"Oh? How much money is going around?" This was Hinata again, and she looked over at Kiba quickly. Her feelings were difficult to read, but his nose picked out that she was excited about something. Did she put a lot of money into this or something? He wished he had known about this earlier. Betting was always a fun way to pass the time, since he never really spent much on anything except food ingredients for Akamaru.

"Twenty thousand ryo (1) or so," Sakura said evenly. "And that's not including some of the bets we're still waiting for money on."

Kiba nearly dropped his tea, which he had lifted for another sip. Hinata held in her surprise, but Tenten gasped. "So much?" she said. "I'm going to be rolling in money by the time this is over. I guess people are really convinced one way or the other."

"What's this bet about?" Kiba asked, looking at the girls. "And why didn't I hear anything?" Sakura snickered before she caught herself, and Hinata blushed again, making him a little suspicious. If it weren't for Sakura being there, he would have grilled her by now. As it was, things were too awkward, and it almost felt like he was the one being laughed at.

"It's a relationship bet," Tenten informed him, smiling at some inner joke. "We told your sister, so we thought you heard something through the grapevine."

"But what relationship?" Kiba wouldn't be deterred, and Sakura bit her lips together, not sure how to answer that. Fortunately, she didn't have to, since at that moment there was a loud crash outside the gates and all of them stood, rushing to see what was going on.

A cart had overturned because of a rut in the road, and the horses had broken free, it seemed. Kiba sighed and went after the horses while Hinata moved to assist the driver of the cart. Tenten and Sakura headed for the cart itself, and the rosette eyed the structure before lifting it up. Tenten worked on fixing the wheel again, which was surprisingly easy once she used a kunai to tap the axel back into place. Hinata calmed the surrounding villagers, especially the ones who weren't used to ninja actions who had come into this district for the market day. Kiba returned with the horses in tow, grumbling something under his breath. Sakura hitched the horses again while Tenten straightened out the cargo, and then the driver was off. Kiba helped to fill in the rut while Hinata asked one of the other Hyugas to fetch a bucket or two of dirt to fill it in completely. The whole process took about fifteen minutes, and by then Kiba had forgotten what he was asking about.

Sakura dusted off her hands and then looked toward the sun. "I should probably get going," she told the others. "I still have to collect bets and it's going down today. If I don't get Kakashi-sensei's money now, I never will."

"Kakashi is betting on this, too?" Kiba asked, looking at the girls.

"What did he bet on?" Hinata questioned innocently.

Sakura smirked. "Can't tell you that. All I can say is he didn't pick what I thought he would." After giving Tenten a significant look, Sakura disappeared in a puff of smoke. Tenten also excused herself, claiming that she had to set something up. That left Hinata, and the girl busied herself with cleaning up after their tea. That left Kiba to stew and wander around town.

And wander he did. The dog boy realized he had made it halfway across the city before he stopped, and then made his way back. On the way, he passed the training grounds yet again and stopped by the fence, looking in as new genin were training. He smiled as they broke from training to just start chasing each other and walked on, but stopped when he passed the last of the grounds.

Standing just a little further away was Shino, and the bug user looked a little peeved. Well, he always looked a little angry, since that impassive face always looked to Kiba like his sister's when she was about to chew him out, but this was more than the expressionless Shino usually showed. His mouth, what could be seen of it, was curled into a decidedly marked frown.

Kiba stepped closer, curious but wary. Shino smelled embarrassed, and he didn't want to be the next target if that was what Shino was in the mood for. Not that he couldn't take him. Everyone knew Kiba was the best ninja ever.

Shino turned when he saw the Inuzuka approach, and Kiba sniffed the air experimentally. Shino's scent was normally very subdued, a fault of the bugs, since the Aburames all smelled like that. Other than the slightly sweaty smell because of the heat, Shino was unhurt and fresh from the morning. Well, there was a nagging scent at the back of Kiba's mind, although it couldn't have been Shino. This smell was very strong. Now he just had to place it.

"Hey, Roach," Kiba said loudly, stopping in front of the Aburame and crossing his arms.

Shino might have rolled his eyes, but his sunglasses blocked the view. Kiba leaned toward him and Shino nearly jumped, which had the dog grinning. Normally, the man in front of him was unshakable, and this new nervous person made his inner predator want to strike. It may have just been all the crap Shino had given him over the last month, but Kiba considered pouncing the man while he was obviously so uptight about something.

"What's got you so jumpy?" he asked.

"Nothing."

Now, if it had been anyone else, that tone of voice might have worked. Shino was the creepy guy, and his entire clan seemed to cultivate fear. However, this was Kiba, and he was scared of exactly nothing, especially his teammate.

"Shino," Kiba began, and the bug user turned away. Kiba followed, wanting to know what had his friend so riled up. Shino was never particularly secretive, and he usually gave up the ghost when pressed about it.

As Shino continued not to answer, they kept walking, and Kiba kept talking, especially when they started being surrounded by others. Ninja returning from missions waved at the two while they made their way down the street, and Kiba kept up his constant stream, knowing that eventually Shino would crack. It took a lot to be as annoying as Kiba could be when he wanted. It took a whole lot more to ignore it for any length of time.

Just when Shino looked like he was going to break, Ino strode up behind them and slapped Shino on the butt, winking at him as she passed. "Hey, baby," she said loudly, making Kiba stop and sniff the air again. He suddenly placed the nagging scent, and spared a glance at Shino's reddening face.

"You're wearing her perfume," the dog noted. "That's her I-just-god-laid perfume." He felt his mouth pull into a predatory grin, canines flashing in the morning light. "What were you up to last night?"

"I wasn't with her," Shino insisted, his face turning ever redder. The man looked like he was about to have a stroke, or at least pop a blood vessel somewhere, so Kiba decided to take immediate action.

"Oh, come on. We're both adults here. Everyone has a ride on the town bicycle." He pulled Shino's arm and tried to lead the other man to the closest bar. "I'm buying you a drink." _And one for me_, he added silently.

Shino protested, but they headed into the bar anyway.

Ino wiped her hand on her skirt as she rejoined Shikimaru and Chouji. She flipped her blonde hair over one shoulder and started walking again, expecting her teammates to follow.

"What was that about?" Chouji asked, nudging Ino and looking over at the bar. It seemed to have gotten louder now that the two shinobi were there, although he really didn't want to wonder why.

"I'm just trying to shift the odds," the woman replied, shrugging. "I plan on coming out of this one on top."

"On the bet?" Shikimaru questioned. "That's troublesome." The shadow user sighed and shook his head, although that was a little hypocritical. He had money on that too, although he wasn't particularly concerned with winning or losing.

Ino turned on him, poking a finger into his jacket and making the Nara stop. "I've got five hundred ryo riding on this bet. I refuse to lose my money to Forehead!"

Shikimaru thought about that for a moment and then pulled out twenty ryo. "Would this convince you to do it again? I bet against Naruto, and he bet with Sakura." Ino grinned at that, looking over at the bar and figuring that it was never too early to have a few drinks, especially since she was about to come into a lot of money.

Chouji sighed loudly. Ino put an arm around him and patted his hair roughly, silently warning him not to go against her demands. Then, the blonde snatched the money from Shikimaru's hand and led the three of them into the bar. She pulled out her best swagger as they entered the darkness, and more than a couple of heads turned in her direction, although they turned away again when they saw who she was with.

The place was crowded, even though it was still the middle of the afternoon. The bartender nodded to them, since Ino was a regular, and she sat the three of them at the bar, looking around to see that Shino and Kiba were huddled in one of the corner booths. Kiba looked like he was in the middle of some rant or another, and Shino seemed bored with the drink in his hand.

"Damn it," someone said next to Team 10. "I have money on that dog and he's buying drinks." He was turned to stare at the two in the corner, and the person next to him laughed.

"See, this is why I always bet differently than you," the other one said. "You're bad luck."

"So you bet for rather than against?" a third person asked. "Those odds aren't very good, man."

"I can't resist," the second one said, grinning. "I love gossip, and this is choice cut." They continued to talk about the odds, including the new ones that Sakura had given people this morning. She would have collected all the bets by now, Ino thought, narrowing her eyes as she glanced at Kiba and Shino yet again. Was that a hand reaching out to touch Shino? Oh, no, he wouldn't!

Ino stood and ordered two more beers, bringing them over to her little cash cows. Kiba looked up in surprise before an unpleasant grin split his face. Shino looked at her as well, his eyebrows raised slightly as she handed him one of the drinks she was carrying.

"No kiss?" Kiba asked, gesturing for the two to make some intimate gesture. "You're already wearing that perfume." Shino looked over at the blonde and then turned away, and Ino eyed Kiba, smirking a little before she leaned over and tried to kiss the bug user.

Shino reacted quickly, moving as far out of reach as he could, and making the woman kiss his hood instead. Ino pouted, and Kiba looked a little surprised by Shino's gesture. The bug user was wary of another try, but Ino only turned her head away in the perfect rendition of an offended female.

"Well," she snapped. "If you're going to be that way, I'm going back with Chouji and Shikamaru." She stalked back, looking for all the world like someone who had just been dumped. Conversations started up again around them, and Kiba looked between his friends, thoroughly confused.

Instead of questioning it, he ordered a couple more drinks, watching as Shino also drank, matching him for once. They only spent an hour at the bar, but by that time, Shino had a little flush to his face, and Kiba knew that it was time for him to go home.

"Are you sure you don't want to go with Ino?" Kiba teased as he helped Shino get outside. The bug user shot him a dirty look, but Kiba was too busy dodging people on the street to notice. It seemed like everyone was out tonight. Vaguely, the dog wondered why, but the dropped it. It was probably some civilian festival he wasn't told about.

The dog was stumped for a moment on whether he should take Shino back to the Inuzuka clan's house, or to the Aburame house. Figuring his house was closer, Kiba turned left, still dodging people at every turn. Civilians were crowding the streets, filing into bars and stores that were normally reserved for only ninja.

Shino mumbled something as Kiba jostled him, but the dog paid no attention. Shino then said it louder. "I need to puke," he told his friend. Kiba jumped, and they headed for the nearest alley. There, Shino tried to keep his drinks down while Kiba patted his back reassuringly. Minutes passed without a word between them, but Kiba felt a little bad about not being sick at all despite having just as much. Shino could not handle his drinks, and yet one of his best friends had forced him through this.

"You okay, buddy?" Kiba questioned after awhile. Shino nodded and they continued. Kiba put an arm around Shino again, not sure if the ninja could walk straight. The clan house was quiet, which was odd, but Kiba would not complain. After all, it meant his mother didn't see him bringing a drunk friend home.

When they got to his bedroom, Kiba put Shino on the bed and started to rummage through his closet for some extra pajamas. "I should go back," Shino insisted woozily.

"Yeah, yeah, now put these on," Kiba replied, handing him a shoddy pair of PJs. They hadn't been worn in quite a while, but they would fit the tall man since they had always been too long for Kiba and he was too lazy to ask someone to hem them for him.

Shino did as he was told, if only because Kiba had already left the room to rummage through the fridge. There was a lot to choose from, but Kiba picked the plainest food in there, hoping to sooth Shino's stomach and make sure he didn't barf on the bedding.

As Shino was pulling up the pajama pants with his shirt still on, Kiba walked back in, brandishing some oatmeal and milk. The smell was sweet, and Shino watched as Kiba set the items carefully on the bed stand. It was too bad that there were three of him and he couldn't decide which one was real. Taking a random guess, he thought it was the one on the left, and grabbed for him. Of course, he apparently never read the drunk guy's manual on illusions, since it was always the one in the middle, and he just ended up almost knocking the oatmeal off of the stand. Kiba saved it, but not without slapping Shino's hand away with a bit more force than necessary. Shino pulled back, a little shocked, and Kiba sighed. What was he going to do with this guy?

"Look, don't go reaching for anything when there's glass around," the dog boy barked at him. "Especially when you're drunk. I didn't even know you could be drunk."

"Normally," Shino said slowly, feeling the blood in his brain suddenly overpowering his thoughts. "Normally, I can't. But I just got back from a mission."

Kiba saw him tilting and pushed him down onto the bed very carefully. Shino instinctively grabbed and pulled, trying to get him off-balance, like he would an enemy. Kiba slammed into his chest and stopped, too shocked to pull away. Shino was far too close, his breath quickening as Kiba's blush grew. He realized that they were still in an awkward position, and pulled back, sitting a little way away and forcing himself to look at the oatmeal.

"So, where did your mission take you?" Kiba asked uncomfortably, trying not to look at Shino, who didn't seem to know what he had done. He just stared at Kiba in as close to confusion as the stoic got.

"Um," Shino said, uncharacteristically at a loss for words. "Mist. My bugs were unsuited to the conditions there, so I do not have as many."

"There's the Shino we all know and love," Kiba said sarcastically. "Why'd they send you if your bugs were going to die? You'd think they thought that one through a little bit more."

"I guess." Shino edged his way up. Kiba jumped when he reached out, touching the man's furry hood like he had never seen it before. Kiba had always dealt with drunks—his clan was less than reserved, after all. But he had never dealt with Shino's particular kind of drunk. Most people got louder, much less reserved. It seemed Shino just got touchy-feely, like those alcoholics who refused to stop hugging people. At least he wasn't punch-drunk, Kiba supposed. That was how Sakura got.

The thought of Sakura made Kiba freeze, a blush beginning to brighten his features as he thought about it. Now there was Shino in basically the same place as she had been, albeit with completely different intentions.

"I'm hot," Shino complained suddenly, trying to remove his jacket. Kiba helped him out of it, but not before Shino insisted he remove his own jacket, "To be fair." If this was the game he was going to play, it could get ugly fast, especially if Kiba had to watch Shino continue to struggle out of his clothes. Shino was so mysterious to even Kiba, who had been on his team for years. It was still possible that he was just screwing with the dog, making some kind of sarcastic point that would obviously go above everyone's heads. He just had that pretentious air of being one step ahead of everyone else, and he was such an angry person when he stood in the background and expected everyone to immediately recognize when he was feeling some kind of stupid emotion or when he got insulted by something no one meant anyway.

While Kiba was ranting in his head, Shino continued to strip, and Kiba was shocked to find that he had decided not to wear a shirt and was going to take off the pants he had just put on.

"Stop that," Kiba growled, putting a hand over Shino's. Then, of course, he realized he was about two inches from groping his friend, so he tried to pull away. Shino refused to let him move, though, looking at Kiba through those sunglasses. His eyes seemed like he was smoldering inside, pulling the dog closer very slowly. Kiba felt his body moving, but he was entranced, and a little scared. Yeah, he liked Shino, but he didn't like this kind of Shino. He wanted to break that smug concentration, not have to deal with this strange guy that looked like his friend.

They were soon very, very close, and Kiba could feel Shino's breath on his lips. It made him shudder slightly, and he couldn't look the other man in the eye. He could only stare at those lips and wonder if they were going to get any closer. As if reading his thoughts, Shino pulled them so close their lips brushed, still leaving Kiba's mind in a crazy daze. His heart was going insane, and he felt a blush rising to his cheeks even more powerfully. Plus, all that separated him and Shino was… well, one layer of clothing. And it wasn't even a thick layer of clothing, either. Kiba squeezed his eyes shut, praying that this wasn't going to get ugly so quickly.

"Did you know," Shino began, drawing a certain pleasure from rubbing the edges of his lips across Kiba's skin. Kiba shuddered once more, this time not bother to hide it. Shino laughed a bit and then continued. "Did you know that there's a bet on whether or not we'll end up kissing sometime this weekend?"

Kiba's eyes snapped open and he glared at his friend, pulling roughly out of his grasp. Shino gripped him fast before he could storm out, and pulled him to his chest. The rough fur of his hood poked him in the chin, and Kiba felt the holes in Shino's wrists against his bare forearms.

"I made you oatmeal, you bastard!" Kiba said loudly, fighting against Shino. The taller man just rolled his eyes behind the smoky glasses, and firmly wrapped his legs around Kiba's waist, basically immobilizing him. Kiba stopped struggling when he felt the man's thighs on his hips, shivering with suppressed rage. This was the cruelest joke yet, and he turned around, glaring at Shino with all the righteous indignation he could muster.

"The oatmeal looks good," Shino said calmly, not bothering to shield himself when Kiba wrenched one arm free and took a swing at him. The blow connected solidly to his cheek and Kiba tried to get out of his wrap and pushing away. Shino just pulled him back, more gently this time. Kiba tried not to turn and face him, but he was forced to gently look into those eyes.

"You knew how I felt about you," Kiba accused, seeing Shino crack a bit of a smile. "And now you're just being a dick. I can't stand you!" He tried to pull away again, but Shino just pulled him in a tighter hug. From this close, Kiba could see the bugs moving beneath those holes in his body, occasionally poking an antenna out. It disturbed the dog a little, but Shino did something he didn't expect that definitely blew his thoughts away.

"I tolerate you, too," Shino sighed, kissing him on the forehead, and then on the cheek, right above his markings. Kiba didn't push him away, still in vaguely openmouthed shock, at the thought of being kissed to chastely. Shino took this as a good sign, but he still hesitated for a moment. Then, very slowly, he kissed Kiba on the lips, offering him the chance to move back at any time. Kiba jerked back, surprised, before leaning in again, hoping that this wasn't another extension of the joke. Shino's mouth was surprisingly dry, and leaning closer, he nearly straddled the bug user as they leaned back on the bed. Pressing in so close, he could feel Shino's heart beat steadily, almost as quickly as his own. Kiba freed his arms so he could greedily rake his fingers through the other man's hair, feeling his eyes close as he let his weight rest lightly over Shino's body with his elbows bearing the brunt of the force.

As they continued and things got a little bit heated, Kiba broke away suddenly, rolling over onto the bed and curling up into a ball. Shino stayed splayed on the bed for a moment before turning to his friend and trying to decide whether or not he should touch him. His hand hovered in the air for a few seconds before it gently rested on Kiba's arm.

"This is for being an ass," Kiba pouted, snickering when Shino slumped. He turned around and put an arm over the bug user's waist, pulling himself a little closer as he looked pointedly at the ceiling. "And you're still drunk, so I guess you'll have to stay the night."

"Oh, really?" Shino said, taking on that drunk tone again. "I am feeling a little tipsy."

Kiba snickered and closed his eyes, smiling. Shino pulled him flush to his chest, carefully taking off that pesky jacket, but leaving the rest of it alone. Kiba could feel the heat of the other man as he rested, although he wasn't sure if Shino was actually this warm or if it was the alcohol.

Well, there would be plenty more chances to find out.

The next morning, Sakura forced Naruto to help her go shopping with her sudden wealth. Ino was growling at the flower shop, and Kakashi had just purchased a new book, humming to himself as several others walked around with a little more jingle in their pockets. Before the rosette had spent everything, she dropped in on Shino, who was leaning against a tree, waiting for Kiba to meet him. Sakura smiled at him and showed off the pile of money she had just made.

"Some of that is mine, you know," Shino said calmly, as Sakura put it back in her hip pouch.

"Not a chance. I tipped you off about Kiba, so consider this payment for hooking you up."

Just then, Kiba arrived, growling a little as Shino turned to him. Sakura just giggled and ran away. Shino was trying to look interested in something else, but Kiba pulled his chin down to look at his face. Instead of shouting like he wanted to, he just kissed the roach, making Shino stiffen before smiling into their union.

"You are dead when you come over tonight," Kiba informed him, pushing the man away again. "Now come on, we're going to pick up Hinata." Shino followed leisurely, smiling to himself a little so that no one else could see.

"I'm coming over tonight?" he questioned when they were in a less crowded place.

"Well, yeah, my family won't be back for another couple of days, so the compound is basically empty." Kiba grinned devilishly. "You should have known what you would get into."

Ino watched them from her flower shop, grumbling at their flirting. Chouji was waiting for her to finish her shift so they could grab some lunch, so he watched the two men pass, seeing Ino's mood get darker.

"Why are the hot ones always gay?" she complained loudly, slamming her fists against the counter.

Chouji chose not to answer that, unsure of what that meant about him. In any case, Ino's mother arrived, so she took off the apron and dashed onto the street. Chouji could only follow, sighing as his teammate stomped to the nearest food stand and ordered almost as much as he would have. She was going to binge again, and then he would get yelled at.

Ah, well, he thought, watching her smile triumphantly at the surprised looks the shop owners gave her. At least Kiba and Shino were happy.

* * *

><p>1) I figure that this is a couple thousand dollars, if you follow the 1 ryo = 10 yen rule and convert to my native American Dollar. Some people seem to think that ryo is equivalent to dollars, which is... completely nonsensical since this is based on Japan's currency in the first place.<p> 


End file.
